Ein Kliene Rotwein

Morey-Saint-Denis 1er cru, Clos de Tart, La Forge de Tart 2008 Mommessin. ($119.00 CHF)


Today I have had the pleasure of tasting 'La forge de Tart' for the first time, a 2008 vintage from the famous Clos de Tart in Morey. While La forge is only second to Clos de Tart and made from grapes from the same estate, the producer named it a premier cru although it technically has grande cru status. I find this an interesting marketing gamble which shows just how much confidence they have in their brand and honestly why shouldnt they?

Clos de Tart is one of only a few monopole vineyards (a vineyard totally owned by one firm) in Burgundy alongside Romanee-cont's different holdings and only a handful of others. While it has only truly started to shine since the mid 1990s with the introduction of its current vintner; Sylvain Pitiot, the estate has been known throughout history as one of the earliest documented vineyards in Burgundy. It was first documented in the 11th century after being sold to the cistercian nuns of the Abbey de Tart. The nuns held the land until the revolution and it was then sold to a merchant by the name of Marey and stayed in his family until the Mommassin's bought it in the 1930s. So basicly in a peroid not so shy of one thousand years the plot has only seen 3 different owners!

Now lets start with the nose: This is my first wine from Morey-Saint-Denise so im not quite used to its characteristics. From what I gather and find when I smell the wine it seems like a more delicate and softer Gevrey; were Gevreys dark cherry bouqet to me is usually very forward and powerful, I found this ones Cherry scent reserved. Other than that typical burgundian baseline of cherrys and black current was a bit of mild, neutral, spices, very pronounced and fine oak as well as a touch of greenery and earth. On the pallet there was a finesse that im not used to as no one taste fought its was into the foreground. There was so much synergy between the different accents which worked together to create a very smooth taste which seemed to want to linger on my tongue indefinately. Its also worth noting the delicate balance of tanin and acidity in this wine; I'm used to very dominant acidity in burgundy wine but here I was pleasently surprised to find a fare share of fine silky tanins complimenting just the right amount of acidity. I hope this review has she'd a little more light on a wine and domaine for that matter which seems to permenantely be framed within a gleaming aura of double, if not triple rainbows.

thanks for checking in

-Charles

big wine from Gevrey-Chambertin

Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru, Clos Saint-Jacques, Louis Jadot (under domaine name) 2010 $130.00CHF

Gevrey-Chambertin is a region full of premier cru vineyards in which Clos Saint-Jacques is reguarded as the best of the higher end premier, crus. A clos is a vineyard which is enclosed by a minimum of 3 walls. The land usually has only 3 in cases were the vineyard reaches the top of the slope and is not walled in. This particular plot has 3 walls as its located mid slope reaching the top. If you were to look at a map of the cote d'or which distinguished its vineyards by their classifications you would notice the grande crus tend to be in the middle of the slope while the premiers tend to surround them from the top and bottom. This clos is reguarded by many as being more or less grand cru quality as its location and soil composition is superb.

On the nose you can tell this wine has a lot to express but superficially there is a clear aroma of cherries, oak, and some definite floral notes. My lack of experience here wont allow me much more of a glimpse into whats lurking in the background although if I really reach I think I can smell a bit of top soil, a little game and rasberrys. This wine's taste isnt exactly dominated by cherries but they definately take centre stage giving the wine an almost candy taste, very sweet, reminds me just a little bit of koolaid even. The acidity is quite powerful but not overbearing, really working with the sweetness and quite generous tanic structure for a pinot noir. This is overall a very complex and contemplative wine which really tested my senses and was a pleasure to drank. All praise be to Allah!

-Charles

p.s This guy is real age worthy, Some reviewers even recommend cellaring for over 15 years! 

the very green red from Nuits Saint George

Nuits Saint George 1er cru-Clos De L'Arlot, Domaine De L'Arlot 2011  $69.50 CHF


Today I am tasting a very young pinot noir from the domaine De L'Arlot. Right off the bat as I took my first wiff I could smell the very obvious green floral notes of this wine. My hunch was that the wine was fermented with the stems in the vat which is a style regaining popularity over the past several years in Burgundy. After a bit of research it turns out the domain in fact ferment with varying amounts of stems depending on the season. I learned that stems can provide tanins in seasons were there is litle concentration in the grapes. I don't know whether or not the 2011 vintage was lacking tanins but the use of the stems seemed liberal indeed but perhaps its just the style of the domaine.

Back to the nose! These floral notes completely dominated the nose in my opinion smelling very stalky almost like sage. I think my reaction to this new aroma comes from a bit of inexperiance as I dont think I have had any burgundy red with the stems left in the vat. Aside from the floral component I have tried quite a few wines from Nuits Saint George and have come to expect the rich strawberry perfume omnipresent in this wine. I opened this bottle a few days ago and I have to admit tasting and smelling it now the initial stalky, even dank smell, has softened into a more refined yet rustic floral note.

When I first tasted this wine I really felt as if I was tasting a wine in its infancy as it is very young and has quite a firm structure which im sure would soften well in the cellar. This wine gave quite the kick compared to the more subdued Nuits Saint George wines I have had before. The acidity was quite high but complimented the dark berry fruits so closely associated with this regions wine. That green monster was still very present but was more chilled out very rastafarian if ya know what I mean. When tasted a few days later the wine had settled down and the floral aspect was more subtle and allowed the other parts of the wine to shine through.

I think I've grown quite fond of this style of wine in the end and it has left me with the desire to not only seek out the domaines wine in other vintages but also experiment with a little decanting as well ;)

I do all my tasting with Peugeot's "les Impitoyables" glass designed for young reds. The glass really accentuates the nose which gives it its name meaning "the unforgiving"

 I also apologize if my spelling is a bit off as my google settings are in some ways english and others german... cheers everyone have a wonderful evening.

Kicking it off with an old Burgundy white

Meursault 1er cru - Les Genevrieres, Henri Boillot 2003:  $79.50 CHF 

Now this is a premier cru from a producer and village that are characteristic of the Burgundy style chardonnay. On the nose I found a bit of oak, quite a bit of butter and the typical hazelnut smell of the chardonnays of this region. The wines aged just about as long as it should be and I think I may have just opened this one in the nick of time. The taste is quite like what you would expect from the nose a very buttery smooth syrup mixed with those hazelnuts and a little terroir in the form of wet stones maybe? Although I cant quite communicate the subtlety exactly, I can really taste the terroir in this wine as if I had just pulled off the road in my polo and given the topsoil a good lick. Wines made under the domaine name come from a small holding of 14 hectares across several locations. Being a big name in Burgundy Boillot undoubtubly practices lots of prunning and late harvesting often ending up with very small yields as only the best will do! I can honestly say this wine has had a great impression on me as I tended to shy away from whites in the past, they just never seemed as contemplative as reds but oh man this one sure stands on its own!

sated.......